How to Draw Realistic Frankie Stein, Monster High

Step 1.

First, draw the basic sketch of how you want her to look. I thought she looked pretty with the far-off look I gave her in this one. Make sure to have a layer of a darker color behind the sketch so you can see what you're doing.

Step 2.

Start doing the outline on another layer. I'm using a slightly brown-red color to make her skin really pop out from everything else. Be sure to taper any lines in the ear.

Step 3.

Do more of the lineart. Taper the lines on the neck so it looks like she has a collarbone.

Step 4.

Finish up the body's lineart by doing the face. Don't forget that both her eyes would show. Her eyelashes would also stick out a lot more on the right eye because they're at a different angle. Add the "sparkle" to both eyes in this step so it's something you won't forget.

Step 5.

Erase all of the sketch except for a small portion. This small left over piece will tell you where her skull is so you don't make the hair look strange.

Step 6.

Next, on the same layer as the sketch (skull marker), put the actual hair line. This will show you if the eyebrows are too close or if her head is simply too small. Mine seems okay, so I'm gonna' go ahead with it.

Step 7.

On this step you'll need to add a layer above the lineart of her body. Next, start drawing in her hair. For this picture it is pulled back out of her face in a modest style. Don't forget to have the lines taper out for a realistic effect.

Step 8.

Now, this one might look odd, but I assure you that it'll look better in a moment. Making an eyeball judgement, start drawing the hair bunched up. This should be about a centimeter from the base of her ear and an inch from her skull. The hair is actually bunching up because it'll soon be held up by a clip.

Step 9.

Fill in the entire bundle of the hair. Don't be too worried about how it looks. Later we'll erase it to a certain point. Remember to make it look good in your eyes. This is all for you after all (:
Also, don't forget to make the clip. I chose a simple flat clip because it looked good with her long hair. But, this is entirely up to you. You could make it a big butterfly or something if you wanted.

Step 10.

For step 10 simply draw out the outline of where you want the longer portion of her hair to go. Be careful about which layer you're on however. Make sure to stay on the hair level for doing these next few steps.

Step 11.

Fill in the long piece hanging over her shoulder just like you did for the bunched up portion. Go to the layer of her body's lineart and erase the shoulder that the hair is covering. Don't forget to change back to the hair level afterwards.

Step 12.

Fill in the rest of the hair. Taper the lines near the bottom where she bleeds off the canvas. Don't let the hair be any longer than her body or else it will look strange.

Step 13.

This step requires merging the hair lineart and the body lineart. After merging make the layer about 40% transparent. Make a new layer above these two and pick a color. You'll now draw the bolts in her neck, her earring, and the stitches across her trachea.

Step 14.

Make yet another layer above the sketch of her bolts and earring. Lineart this with the same color as on her hair/body lines. When finished erase the lower level and return the transparency to normal on the lineart. Erase any overlap from the hair and neck region. Merge the two layers for one lineart.

Step 15.

Remember how in step 9 I said we were going to erase? Well here is what I meant. Make your eraser tool about 45% - 65%. If you're on SAI put the brush shape option to "bristle" to give it a nice look and feel of actual hair.

Step 16.

For this step you'll need to make a layer under your lineart. Go to your color wheel and pick any blue-green color near the gray end of the scale. (Mine was: R:199 G:219 B:200)

Step 17.

Next, on the same layer, select the watercolors tool. Pick a color slightly darker than the base color. (R:179 G:206 B:180 for mine.)Slowly brush this onto her body and face to give it definition. I made her cheek bones stand out because it gave the illusion of her pursing her lips.

Step 18.

Add even more definition by going over the spots over and over. Make the color even darker than on step 17 or 16. (R:170 G:199 B:172) Going to a bluer or greener color helps with the shading too. It gives her skin a more healthy look if there's definition and shade.

Step 19.

Darker is better when it comes to making things realistic. On normal people, you'll notice a lot of darkness when the light hits someone just right. Add more and more shadows to make them look differently. Certain lighting can make her look creepy or pretty. It's up to you to decide what you want.
(The darker color on mine is R:173 G:201 B:175)

Step 20.

Now is the time for blurring. Pick the "blur" tool from the selection. Put the tool's texture to paper at 32%. This will give her the appearance of pores and groves. If you want more definition make the occupancy on the "paper" texture higher.

Step 21.

Now, this step has a lot. I decided I wanted to give her something plaid so I made her a ruffled shirt. You don't need to do this unless you want to. I then proceeded to give her eyes, earring, bolts/stitches, and lips color. Her eyeshadow was done on a layer above the others so I could adjust the occupancy.

Step 22.

Pick the color you want for the base of her hair. By doing this under the skin you can see any mistakes you might have missed. Proceed to erase these now so you don't forget.

Step 23.

Shade the hair with a mixture of blues and grays. It doesn't have to be perfect. Remember, it's only a drawing. (:
After shading, erase the hair outside of the outline.

Step 24.

Alright, we're almost done here!
For the last big step add a layer above the black/blue hair coloring. Turn this layer to "luminosity" and select the lightest color already in the hair. Go over in the "luminosity" layer in big stripes to make her hair match the actual characters. The shading should be done for you in this layer because of the setting.

Step 25.

Finally add the finishing touches that you see are needed. Fix the background to your liking, also. I finished off by adding a bit more contrast to the hair and skin. I then signed my name. Hope this was a good tutorial everyone! If you have any requests feel free to comment or message me with them. (:

Hello everyone! I've never seen the show or played any games in relation to Monster High, but the characters are really cool looking. I thought I'd do a tutorial on a realistic-ish Frankie. Hope you enjoy!

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